Long-term change in the sensitivity of tree-ring growth to climate forcing in Larix decidua

• Published in: The New phytologist Vol. 170; no. 4; pp. 861 - 872
• Main Authors: Carrer, Marco, Urbinati, Carlo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-01-2006; Blackwell Science; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon - metabolism; Carbon dioxide; Chronology as Topic; Climate; Climate change; Climate models; climate–growth responses; Climatic zones; Climatology; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Dendroclimatology; forest trees; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geography; Growth rings; Larix - anatomy & histology; Larix - growth & development; Larix decidua; Larix decidua (European larch); moving correlation function; Paleoclimatology; physiological response; Pine trees; plant response; Synecology; Temperature; Terrestrial ecosystems; Time Factors; Tree growth; tree ring; Trees - growth & development; uniformitarian principle; Climate; Forests; Temperature; moving correlation function; Growth; Larix decidua; uniformitarian principle; Environmental factor; climate-growth responses; Carbon; Long term; Interannual variation; Gymnospermae; Environment; Tree; Coniferales; Spermatophyta; Larix decidua (European larch); Chronology; dendroclimatology; tree ring
• ISSN: 0028-646X; 1469-8137
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01703.x

• Tree rings are widely used long-term proxy data which, if combined with long-term instrumental climate records, can provide excellent information on global climate variability. This research aimed to determine whether interannual climate-growth responses in Alpine treeline forests are stationary over time. • We used tree-ring width chronologies of Larix decidua (European larch) from 17 sites and monthly temperatures and precipitation data for the period 1800-1999. Climate-growth relationships were assessed with correlation and response functions, and their stationarity and consistency over time were measured using moving correlation. • Tree-ring chronologies showed similar interannual variations over the last two centuries, suggesting that the same climatic factors synchronously limited growth at most sites. The most sensitive variables showed significant transient responses varying within the time period, indicating a possible deviation from the uniform-itarian principle applied to dendroclimatology. • If these findings are confirmed in future studies on other species and in other regions, we suggest that time-dependent variables should be taken into account to avoid overestimation of treeline advance, future forest carbon storage in temperature-limited environments and inaccurate reconstruction of past climate variability.